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BIG SURPRISE 


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Snipp, Snapp, Snurr, and 

THE BIG SURPRISE 

By 

Maj Lindman 



JUNIOR PRESS BOOKS 

ALBERTXWH ITMAN 

y ' 4co 

CHICAGO 

1937 


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Copyright, 1937, by Albert Whitman & Company 1 2_ 



THE SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR BOOKS 
By 

Maj Lindman 

SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR AND THE RED SHOES 
SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR AND THE GINGERBREAD 
SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR AND THE MAGIC HORSE 
SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR AND THE BUTTERED BREAD 
SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR AND THE YELLOW SLED 
SNIPP, SNAPP, SNURR AND THE BIG SURPRISE 
Lithographed in the U. S. A. 

fXJI A ii 2005 ?N v OCT 11 1037 

















Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr took Mother to the boat. 




























S nipp, Snapp, and Snurr, three little 
boys who lived in Sweden, were 
taking Mother to the boat. 

For weeks she had planned a visit 
with an old friend. 

Only last evening Father brought 
home her ticket and gave it to her, 
just before he himself left on a busi¬ 
ness trip. 

Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr were left 
in the care of Nanny who had known 
them since they were babies. 

Father had asked Snipp, Snapp, and 
Snurr to take Mother to the boat, and 
they were very proud to do this. 

Early in the morning they were on 
the dock when the boat first whistled. 

Snipp and Snapp carried the big 
suitcase between them. Snurr carried 
the small bag and held Mother’s arm, 
just as he had seen Father do. 


IWIOTHER hurried aboard, and the 
IVI three little boys stood on the dock 
waving to her as the boat left shore. 

“We’ll surely miss Mother,” said 
Snurr sadly as they started home. 
“But I do hope she has a fine time.” 

When they got home they found 
Nanny stirring a cake in a big bowl at 
the kitchen table. 

Nanny was like a second mother to 
the boys. She often told them that she 
had always known their mother. 

“Good morning, Snipp, Snapp, and 
Snurr,” said Nanny. “How you boys 
grow! Are you too big to like surprises?” 

“No! We’ll never be too big for sur¬ 
prises,” answered Snipp. 

“Are you planning a surprise for 
us?” asked Snapp. 

“No,” answered Nanny. “I had 
planned this cake for a surprise, but 
now you’ve seen it.” 



They found Nanny at the kitchen table stirring a cake. 



















I know!” interrupted Snipp. “Let’s 
I plan a big surprise for Mother 
when she gets home.” 

“But what can it be?” asked Snapp. 
“You know we haven’t any money.” 

“Let’s get her a chair,” said Snurr. 

“She’d like that!” agreed Snipp and 
Snapp. 

So Nanny suggested that they earn 
the chair by working for all the dif¬ 
ferent people who would help to 
make it. 

“My brother makes frames for 
chairs,” she said. “Go to him and tell 
him what you want. I know there are 
many errands you can do for him. 
When the chair is made, you can get 
the cloth and I’ll make the cover.” 

Away ran the boys to the shop of 
Nanny’s brother. As they stepped in 
they took off their caps politely and 
said, “Good morning! We’ve come 
from your sister Nanny.” 



As they came in they took off their caps most politely. 









\A/E’VE come to ask you to make a 
""chair for us,” said Snurr. “Our 
Mother has gone away and Nanny is 
taking care of us. We’d like to get a 
chair for Mother for a big surprise. 
Nanny said she’d cover it, but first we 
need a frame. Will you make it?” 

“I will,” promised Nanny’s brother. 

“But I haven’t told you everything,” 
said Snurr more slowly. “We want the 
chair, but we have no money.” 

Then Snapp asked, “May we work 
for you, while you make the frame of 
the chair for us? We’ll be glad to do 
anything.” 

Nanny’s brother agreed to let them 
work for him. Soon Snipp was sweep¬ 
ing the floor, Snapp was carrying 
boards to the bench to be measured 
and cut, while Snurr looked for nails 
that were the right size for the frame 
of the chair. 



Snipp was sweeping the Root, Snapp was carrying boards, 
while Snurr looked for nails. 




















T HEN one morning the frame for 
the chair was finished. 

“It’s straight and strong,” said 
Nanny’s brother. “That frame will 
last for many, many years, for I’ve 
used fine wood. 

“There’s an old friend of mine in 
the shop across the street who is an 
upholsterer. He knows how to put 
springs in the chair, and how to stuff 
it so that it will be soft and comfort¬ 
able. Why don’t you take this frame to 
his shop and ask him to upholster it 
for you, while you work for him?” 

The three little boys thanked Nan¬ 
ny’s brother and carried the frame 
for the chair into the upholsterer’s 
shop. A smiling man in a long white 
coat came to meet them. Snipp, 
Snapp, and Snurr found it very easy 
to tell him about the big surprise. 

“I’ll put in the very best springs I 
have,” he promised. 



A smiling man in a long white coat came to meet them. 
















I’LL tie them down very tightly. I’ll use 
■ the best material I have to stuff the 
chair, too. Over it all I will put strong 
cloth. Then the chair will be ready for 
its cover. Shall I make that too?” 

“No, thank you,” said Snurr. “Nan¬ 
ny will make the cover for us — one 
that Mother can wash.” 

“A good idea,” nodded the uphol¬ 
sterer. 

“But you see we have no money,” 
explained Snapp. “May we work for 
you, while you are making the chair 
for us? We’ll be glad to do anything.” 

“Go into my workroom and make 
it neat and tidy,” answered the uphol¬ 
sterer. 

There the three little boys worked 
hard. They put feathers in bags. They 
found many pieces of cloth which 
they folded into neat piles. Snurr 
swept the floor, and then he carried 
out sacks full of strings and scraps. 





The three little boys worked hard 



























T HEN one morning they saw that the 
chair was finished. 

“Sit down in your chair and see how 
you like it,” said the man in the long 
white coat. 

Snippsat down and said, “Oh, but 
it is soft!” 

Snapp sat down and said, “It’s very 
comfortable.” 

But Snurr said politely, “Thank you 
very, very much. I’m sure Mother will 
like this the best of any chair she has 
ever had.” 

The man in the white coat smiled as 
he said, “I think you are right.” 

Then he helped the three boys put 
the chair on a two-wheeled, green 
cart, and they started down the street. 

Snipp pulled the cart, Snapp held 
the chair in place, and Snurr ran be¬ 
hind the cart to keep the chair from 
falling off. 



Snipp pulled the cart, Snapp held the chair in place, 
and Snurr ran behind. 

























I ET’S stop right here,” said Snipp, 
■— when they were in front of a small 
shop. “We’ll go in and try to get the 
cloth to cover the chair. Nanny can 
then begin to work on it just as soon 
as we get home.” 

The three little boys hurried into 
the shop. Behind the counter stood a 
man with black curly hair. 

“Good morning,” said Snipp. “Will 
you please show us cloth to cover a 
chair. The chair is to be a big sur¬ 
prise for our mother. She likes red 
very much.” 

“And she likes flowers,” added 
Snapp. 

“Have you cloth that has red flowers 
on it?” asked Snurr. 

“That I have,” answered the man as 
he held up a piece for them to see. 
“Here are red flowers, and other 
colors too. This cloth will be pretty in any 
room. It will wash and look like new.” 



“Here are red flowers, and other colors too.” 

























O H, I like that!” said the three little 
boys in one breath. 

“That is just what we want, but we 
have no money,” said Snurr. “May 
we work for you to pay for the cloth? 
We’ll be glad to do anything. We’ll 
deliver packages for you all next 
week, if you will only let us have the 
cloth.” 

When the man with the curly hair 
understood about the big surprise, he 
agreed. He measured the cloth, cut 
it, and handed the package to Snurr. 

“Here you are,” said he. “You 
may take this package home, but 
hurry back! I want you to straighten 
these shelves.” 

The three little boys hurried home 
with the chair and the package. 

But they quickly returned to the shop 
to work. They folded cloth into neat 
creases on the bolts, and put the bolts 
on the shelves in straight, even rows. 









They folded cloth into neat creases and put the bolts 
on the shelves in straight rows. 






















W HEN the boys came home late that 
afternoon they found Nanny bus¬ 
ily sewing on the cloth with the pretty 
red flowers. 

“The cover is all cut out, boys,” she 
said. “I have it nearly basted, too.” 

“Do you think you can possibly 
have it all done when Mother gets 
home?” asked Snipp anxiously. 
“You’ll have only one week more, and 
I’m afraid we can’t help much. We 
can’t sew, and we’ve promised to de¬ 
liver packages all week too.” 

“Didn’t I tell you I’d make the 
cover?” asked Nanny. “You three 
boys have worked hard to earn the 
chair and this cloth. That’s your share 
in Mother’s big surprise. I’ll make 
the cover, for that’s my share. Of 
course I’ll have it done.” 

Every day the next week the three 
little boys delivered packages, and 
Nanny sewed busily on the cover. 



“Of course I’ll have the cover done.’’ 











T HE morning of the day Mother 
was expected home Nanny said, 
“Boys, the cover is finished! Let’s put 
it on.” 

Ever so carefully they drew it over 
the chair and into place. 

“Isn’t it beautiful!” exclaimed Snipp. 
“It does fit well,” said Nanny. 

“We’ll put the chair in the middle 
of the living room,” said Snapp. 

“Fine!” said Snurr. “But now we 
must hurry to the boat to meet her.” 

Mother was very happy to see the 
three little boys. 

On the way home the boys told 
Mother that they had a big surprise 
for her. 

Mother was very curious but she 
had to wait until she got home. Then 
as she stepped into the living room she 
saw the big surprise and cried, “It’s 
a chair! A perfectly beautiful chair!” 
Nanny peeped in from the hall. 







“It’s a chair! A perfectly beautiful chair!” 





































I ATER in the evening Mother made 
I— a fire in the fireplace and the three 
boys drew the chair before it. Then it 
was that Snipp told Mother how Nan¬ 
ny’s brother had made the frame for 
the chair; how his friend across the 
street had upholstered it, and how 
they themselves had chosen the ma¬ 
terial for its cover. 

“You see, Mother, Nanny made the 
cover for the chair. That’s her share 
in the big surprise,” said Snapp. 
“We couldn’t make the chair for you 
ourselves, but we could work hard 
each day to pay someone for the work 
he did in making the chair.” 

Snurr added, “Everybody was very 
glad to help us with the big surprise.” 

Mother smiled as she said softly, 
“I know there are many people I must 
thank for this big surprise, but my 
three big boys are the ones I thank 
most of all.” 



“There are many people I must thank for this big surprise .» 





































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